Salva Nos Apocrypha
by Ajora
Summary: Every event generates potential futures. This is a collection of what-if stories for the post-Apocalyptic crossover fic Salva Nos.
1. 00: Spinning Yarns (prologue)

Salva Nos Apocrypha  
>00: Spinning Yarns<br>by Ajora Fravashi

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.  
>Note: This is a collection of completely non-canon side-stories for the universe of Salva Nos. Nothing written here is actually a part of Salva Nos itself. Nothing here reflects any sort of end-game for the fic. This is just me entertaining myself with complete nonsense and what-if shipfic. Anyone getting into this Apocrypha is encouraged to read SN first. The Apocrypha can and will involve the following: heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, gender nonconformity, monogamy, polyandry, and more. I am likely to lose all my followers for this, but please keep in mind that this is just for fun. I'm releasing this now because the upcoming chapter (20) is going to be very, very dark.<p>

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><p>Daisuke didn't really care what anyone did on their off-time, so long as it was something. Everyone should have a thing they did that wasn't part of their daily work tasks. Takeru played world conquest games with Ken when he wasn't writing in his notebook, Patamon raced with Piyomon, V-mon had a group in the Digimon Room that he played with, Jun guided newcomers around and helped them settle in, Sora spent her time alone to decompress and experiment with traditional arts, Jianliang disappeared somewhere and reappeared hours later with helmet hair and sometimes taught t'ai chi and kung fu in the gym when Iori wasn't teaching kendo, Wormmon turned out to be surprisingly good at knitting and sometimes played with Iori's Armadimon. Daisuke himself flitted between several social groups depending on their availability: the poker group Senri hosted, Manami's boxing class, the culinary club, the soccer club, and whatever else was open at the time.<p>

And, sometimes, he just liked to watch people. He sat up on the catwalk suspended over the hydroponics part of the enormous chamber that also housed the cafeteria, legs dangling over the edge just above the support trellis for some climbing plants. Behind him were the hot lamps that provided light to the garden. At this time of day, the lamps were out and the only light came from the cafeteria part of the area. Senri's poker game wouldn't start for another couple of hours yet, all the sporting clubs closed at sunset, and he'd already eaten supper. He had a flask of sake in his pocket, but he was not yet in the mood to indulge.

Roughly thirty minutes into his people-watching venture, he heard tiny feet on the metal causeway and the slap of long, prehensile ears on balusters. While he couldn't say that he expected to see Terriermon here, he also wasn't very surprised. Gliding digimon occasionally used the catwalks to stay in practice, though that was usually done in the Digimon Room. "Jen know you're up here breaking rules," Daisuke asked lightly once Terriermon arrived on the catwalk. No one was supposed to be jumping off catwalks, but people generally turned a blind eye to those digimon who did.

Terriermon stuck out his tongue and settled next to him. "He's busy being a butt."

"No, really?" Daisuke couldn't help but laugh. How the hell Li Jianliang ended up with a digimon who seemed to be his exact opposite, Daisuke had no idea. "What's he being a butt about?"

"Let's see…" Terriermon stuck out one stubby hand and started ticking off a list on his fingers. "Ken, Ryo, Osamu, Shaochung, Lianjie. And a bunch of boring details about his job, but those are the main ones. And a lot of angst." The digimon paused and flexed his fingers before draping his ears over his feet. "Entire boatloads of angst. He prefers being alone for that."

Daisuke let the silence last for a few minutes. Whatever Jianliang's demons were, he probably didn't even share them with his digimon. But there was something he was curious about. "I… kindasorta overheard him talking to some guy in one of those remote hallways no one's supposed to use. All I heard was a list, though. Gibson meteorite, iolite, petrified wood, and palladium. Jianliang didn't sound too happy about it. And there was something about wanting Jianliang there for the ceremony."

"Oh!" Terriermon laughed lightly. "That's what he meant. There's a couple he has a crush on, but never got up the spine to tell either of them. They're getting married at some point."

His eyebrows rose at that. He'd never considered being with more than one person; just one relationship was a lot of work. But two? Wow. "Someone's greedy."

"Jen's never happy with anything simple." Terriermon's dark eyes danced in amusement. Then he switched gears, which was unsurprising. Terriermon might poke fun at his partner, but never to much of an extent. "Whatcha doing up here?"

"I got bored and wanted to watch people." He considered his company. Terriermon was a blast, moreso because human stories were the kind Daisuke loved. Everyone had a story, and Terriermon collected them much like Daisuke did. Whether they were true or not was entirely irrelevant. "Why don't we swap stories?"

With a tone of pure glee, Terriermon began.


	2. 01: An Unexpected (TakeruRukiKen)

Salva Nos Apocrypha  
>01: An Unexpected Development<br>by Ajora Fravashi

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.  
>Note: This came out of a fic prompt on Tumblr. It in no way reflects the actual endgame of Salva Nos, and there is no pairingthreesome for any of these characters in the main fic itself. Warning for bisexuality and polyandry.

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><p>Every morning since Ruki moved operations to Hiroshima, she could be found on the porch overlooking the pond in the historic Shukkei Garden. She'd taken the former Asano family villa as her own, largely as her due for all her hard work for the newborn country, and no one had opposed her. That she wasn't having tea with Renamon was something of a surprise, and Takeru wandered the house until he came across something even more unusual.<p>

Ruki allowed them to cuddle her, and might grudgingly return the favor. As a rule, she did not cuddle them first. Seeing Ken and Ruki alone together wasn't all that unusual, but seeing Ruki use Ken as a pillow as she slept was another thing entirely. And she was noticeably pregnant; that brought Takeru up short. He wasn't sure he was ready to be a father just yet, even if it was just as likely to be Ken's.

Takeru moved silently to the right side of the bed at Ken's behest, because Ken's shoulder never quite healed right and Ruki had always been careful with it and favored his left side. That, and approaching her from behind without warning usually got an elbow in whichever of his body parts was closest. Loving Ruki usually resulted in bruises, but he couldn't say he minded it very much. "So when were either of you going to tell me," he whispered.

"You were off doing who knew what," Ken whispered back, eyes glinting in suppressed amusement. "Things happen when you disappear, you know."

"I was writing. History of the reunification, remember?" Takeru might have made more of an effort to make Ken laugh, but curling up in bed with his lovers sounded like a great idea after driving from his retreat at Lake Biwa. He slipped into bed as carefully as he could and brushed a light kiss over Ken's lips. "I did miss you, though. Both of you."

"Missed you, too." Then Ken kissed him back, and it was so good to have someone to come back to —

Then something thumped on his head the moment he drew back to appreciate what he had, and he looked up to see Ruki glaring at him with a cushion in hand. It was Annoyed Look #3, which generally meant that he was at fault for something, but she didn't really hate him for it. He looked at her in askance.

"This is your fault, you know," she groused, though she made no effort to detach from Ken's side.

Ah, this was going to be delicate territory to navigate. Ken sighed, apparently preparing himself for being in the middle of another argument. "Ruki, love? Are you sure it's not Ken's?"

Then she rolled her eyes at him, as she usually did when he was being dense. "Angel, _love_, Prettyboy was away being the big fancy Prime Minister during the months I've been trying to fuck you senseless. I see it worked."

'Senseless' might not have been far off the mark. He blinked blankly at her, trying to parse the exact meaning of the words. Takeru had never actually considered fatherhood, not with his family's history. Frankly, he'd never considered being in a relationship for this long, either. Ten years, wasn't it? This probably should have happened sooner. He opened his mouth to respond, blinked and closed it when he didn't know what to respond with, and Ken was trying not to laugh as Ruki gave that satisfied smile she had when she won their battles of wits. He was confused, but there was a warm curl of delight welling inside him, too. Then a grin spread across his face. "Have you chosen a name?"

"Rusaka, or Rui," Ken replied, though Takeru knew that they would be Ruki's choices. Except in very rare events, neither of them was inclined to tell Ruki what to do. Knowing himself and Ken, he knew they would let Ruki run the show for the extent of the pregnancy.

"Rusaka sounds a bit like rusalka," Takeru pointed out, somewhat inanely. 'Red-haired girl' in Slavic, according to some books he read on the road. Water nymphs who, in their nineteenth century incarnations, lured men to their watery deaths. He shared this with them, and she grinned. Naturally. Sirens and other such creatures responsible for the doom of men delighted her.

"Perfect. Rusaka it is." Ruki then draped her arm back across Ken's chest and her eyes fluttered closed.

Takeru decided to risk it, and leaned over Ken to kiss Ruki. Or tried to. Her hand shot up when she felt the bed shift and stopped him in his tracks. "No sugar until you make up for this, Angel."

"Yes, dear," he replied, though he knew she wasn't completely serious. He'd likely have to go find the ice cream maker and put in an order for black sesame before she'd let him touch her again. Ruki would probably use the pregnancy as an excuse to order him around, which he didn't mind at all. Not with what he knew of her past, or the tales suggested by her scars.

Takeru laid on his side, careful of Ken's disabled shoulder, and watched them both drift off. They were important political figures, and all he really did these days was write down his experiences and occasionally go fishing. Ruki would want to go straight back to work after she gave birth, and Ken would likely be busy running the country. Being a father might not be so bad; Shukkei Garden was sufficiently isolated enough to let his mind wander, and the digimon would surely help him with the kid. And, with the country now mostly stable, little Rusaka might even have a chance at a normal childhood.

In the peaceful isolation of Shukkei Garden, with Patamon flitting around with Renamon and Wormmon in the garden and his lovers ensconced with their worries forgotten, Takeru drifted off to sleep.


End file.
